As the fall starts to settle in, the wind blows colder, and the leaves start to fall and brown, people gather around Puyallup, Wash. in a yearly tradition that is beloved by locals, the Washington State Fair.

This year, the fair ran for four weeks, from Aug. 30 through Sept. 22. Throughout its long history, the fair continues to celebrate a community of people gathering for fun games, rides, entertainment, and amazing food from all different types of places brought from local vendors. 

While attending the fair, everywhere you turn and look you see families smiling and laughing and kids running around having fun. A unique activity and major attraction of the fair is the petting zoo, with lots of animals like cows and goats where you can view them eating and sleeping. Along with the petting zoo there was arcade games to play like the water gun balloon pop and kickball as well as rides like the drop tower.

“When that ride shot us high in the sky, and I was laughing from the depths of my belly, I looked over while crying tears of joy and saw my family. That’s when I knew I would remember this moment for the rest of my life,” said Samantha F., a festival participant about her experiences at the fair.

The first day kicked off with a bevy of famous artists, including some crowd favorite highlights like Bryson Tiller (who played to a sold out show), Wiz Khalifa, and KIDZ BOP.

The Washington State Fair originally opened its doors Oct. 4 in 1900 in the small town of Puyallup with tickets starting at $1 for all 3 days. Now, almost 124 years after it opened for the first time, tickets started at $18+ for one adult entry. 

Although this year’s fair has come to a close, there’s always next year’s to look forward to. At the end of the day the community had fun and they are already excited for what’s to come in the years ahead as speculation begins about who will perform at the state fair next year.